On the question of whether all life could spring up again spontaneously from putrefaction if a universal flood covered and drowned the earth, (pseudo) Albert the Great explains that “it is impossible for a universal flood to take place because the planets are not able to converge in that manner.”

Oops. Kind of a hard argument for a pious Bible-reader to arrive at. So, to this, he has to add:

“We read that a universal flood took place because of the evil of men, however this this has nothing to do with our subject because we are speaking in a natural manner [cum naturaliter loquamur]” (97; Latin from here).